


Beastly Beauty

by Tahrpit



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Lolicon, Mind Control, No Sex, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-24
Updated: 2012-03-24
Packaged: 2017-11-02 11:32:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/368554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tahrpit/pseuds/Tahrpit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pt. 1

A/N: This was a short story I wrote for my Writing Fiction class. Its completely original in plot and characters but in a sense its almost like a retake on Beauty and the Beast. Do not read it as it is like Beauty and the Beast because there is no happy ending and the twists that you expect aren't from previous Beauty and the Beast's are not in here.

 

A young man, barely in his twenties, stood in the middle of an upturned graveyard. The soil laid scattered in large clumps beside newly dug holes. “How could you do this? How could you steal all those souls? Have you no compassion?” The man looked beyond a large mausoleum into the dark shadows of the night for the cloaked figure he knew was hiding somewhere out there. 

“I did what needed to be done. The world needs to be cleansed of such souls that taint it. However, it brings me great sadness that my one true companion must die. Do not worry, I shall honor you and not house your soul as I’ve done with so many other beauties. You truly did reform and I will always treasure you for that.” With that, a short hooded creature in a brown cloak rushed towards the young man thrusting a clawed hand through his chest, right through the man’s heart.

“Farewell my dear James. You will always live as the brightest flame in my memory even if I do not get to keep you.” The hooded stranger pulled their arm out of the James’ body and let it drop to the ground. The skies opened up and poured a torrent of rain down onto the graveyard, mourning the young man’s death.

However, this is not the true tale that is being told. The real tale takes place once upon a time, in a quiet little village where there once lived a young man that was truly breathtaking. He was godly. He was so beautiful his village nicknamed him Beauty.

Beauty believed many of the women were envious of him. He could often be heard saying his creamy peach skin was much fairer then their pasty tough hide, his hair was silky and golden compared to their dry dull textured tresses, and his verdant eyes sparkled like expensive gems compared to their lackluster beady marbles. His eyes were truly his best feature; there were tales in villages miles away about the boy with the most beautiful eyes.

Beauty believed many of the men were envious of him as well. He’d rant to anyone that would sit long enough for him to open his mouth that their women spoke and thought of nothing else but him, their children aspired to have him as their father, and their parents wished they had such a breathtakingly wonderful son such as him.  
It was hard being as beautiful as he was. There was nothing in his village to interest him. Beauty desired to always be as beautiful as he was in that moment, because he felt it was impossible for him to look any better than he did without something as ludicrous as magic. His dream in life was to have his beauty captured and preserved for all eternity.

The tale of Beauty is a tale to be told to the children of all villages for many years to come as a caution to be careful of what one wishes for because when one gets it, it’s not always as one expected it to be.

~

“Beauty, get your lazy ass up and do some work for once in your life.” Beauty’s sister Alice bellowed from the base the stairs like the burly boar Beauty believed she resembled. He wondered sometimes how he had been born into a family he bore no resemblance to. They were all dark brutish pigs while he was an elegant angel in his eyes.

Beauty rolled over in his scratchy cotton sheets and pulled them over his head, clearly ignoring his sister. As if he would listen to someone that was so unappealing. Why should he have to work when he looked this good? If he did work just as Alice did all the time he would end up looking haggard and dull just as she and everyone in the village did.

He could hear her muttering about ungrateful lazy louses. As previously stated, women were naturally envious of him with his sister far from being an exception; if God cared for Alice and blessed her with similar looks as he blessed Beauty then maybe she would understand that people with such looks as his are not born in this world to do labor. They were born to give people like her dreams and fantasies of being good looking.

Beauty lolled in the bed for another twenty minutes until the racket his sister made no longer allowed him to peacefully enjoy his bed. He huffed at how rude it is to clean around noon when he was clearly still in bed and pushed off the covers to head about his daily grooming.

He walked towards the kitchen where he assumed that his mother would have his breakfast ready for him. The kitchen was so small that it could barely fit two people let alone four people, a table, and four chairs. The windows were covered by thick curtains still, but there were three lanterns lit to illuminate the room. Beauty saw his food sitting on top of the stone stove wrapped up as he walked over to the square table and sat in the chair farthest from the stove. He sighed heavily, “Mom! I need my food at the table and I need it warmed up!”

“How about you do it yourself?” Beauty rolled his eyes at his sister’s immediate response. He assumed she was nearby with how loud her voice echoed into the kitchen. It was none of her business whether he did it himself or not. It wasn’t like he’d asked her to do it. Sometimes he felt tempted to ask her what her problem was. “Like seriously Beauty, you’re lazy, there’s no kinder way to say it. You don’t clean, you don’t work, you won’t even volunteer to watch the village kids for fear they are going to ruin your dainty little image. Get off your prissy little derrière sometime and lend a helping hand. You had better shape up quickly or you’ll regret it.” Alice now stood in the kitchen archway with her hands on those wide child-bearing hips.

Some of the men of the village might like to think that Alice was attractive but Beauty certainly didn’t see it. This was not just his thinking mentality as her younger highly more attractive brother either. Her sandy brown shoulder length hair was always done up in that atrocious looking thing women called a bun. Half her hair was never really in the bun so he didn’t see the point in her putting hair up in it when it looked tacky. She should try and add some curls to spice her hair up and look a little decent. Her skin was tanned from all the yard work she did and she was always sweaty. How did she expect to attract a man as good looking as him (which certainly isn’t possible but Beauty thought Alice should be allowed to dream occasionally) when she looked like a working person? Beauty simply did not understand Alice’s logic at all.

“Why don’t you get a husband Alice? Oh I forgot you look too much like someone’s maid to attract anyone with your subpar looks. You should really get over yourself. You act like you’re something just because you’re older than me.” Beauty watched as Alice’s features tightened in anger while she clenched her fists. They heard the front door open and close in the background and Alice released a deep breath to stop from responding. She would not start something in front of their parents because they will undoubtedly take his side. After all who takes the ugly child’s side? 

“Alice, Beauty, I’m home. Where’s your mother?” Their father called out to them from the front of the house where he probably was dropping his work equipment at the entryway. Their father worked two jobs. By day he was a construction man working to expand the tiny little village, while at night he was a fisherman catching seafood to sell in the local market and for their table. These were clearly jobs that belonged to people that had no beauty and it embarrassed Beauty to even think about.  
Alice left the kitchen and headed towards the entryway to greet their father. Beauty heard her whispering about something but he couldn’t hear what she exactly what she was saying. She was probably whining about how she wasn’t half as good looking as Beauty was. Alice would have to face it for their father couldn’t help her either; he was no looker himself in Beauty’s book. Beauty thought his father looked gaunt and on his last leg. His once golden hair was peppered with grey from age. The man no longer reached his full height of 5’9”. He was often hunched over like an old person so despite that Beauty was shorter than him by a couple inches; he still appeared to be taller. His father’s skin looked like tired old leather. Beauty hoped when he aged he did it gracefully and didn’t end up looking like his father.

Beauty got up from the table and headed to where his father and sister were, tired of being ignored. He should have been eating some time ago. His father glanced up from where he was still whispering to Alice. “Hello there Beauty,” Beauty’s father smiled at him and Beauty gave him a half smile/sneer for his efforts and crossed his arms over his chest. Beauty wasn’t happy in the least bit and it seemed the father sensed the upcoming tantrum he would have to listen to by the way he tiredly sighed and scratched the back of his head. “I was just telling your sister that we have some bad news. We’re-.”

“I don’t care what news you tell Alice. Why wasn’t mom here when I woke up so that she could warm up my food? She knows I can hardly eat cold food.” Beauty glared at his father while the man continued to scratch the back of his head. The father’s forehead creased in frustration and his eyes tightened. Beauty thought his father was hurting his head by trying to think. Alice walked off shaking her head in contempt knowing all too well that her brother was a lost cause.

“Beauty this is something you really need to hear.” His voice was soft despite Beauty refusal to be appeased. Beauty saw this as his father avoiding his problems for his own which Beauty could care less about. His father was in fact at fault as much as his mother was. He should have made sure to remind her that Beauty liked to eat immediately after waking before his father left for work.

“If it doesn’t have to do with either you or mother heating up my food this instant then I could hardly care what you have to say.” Beauty found himself running out of patience and he let out an exasperated sigh to show it. Was he not being perfectly clear in what he wanted? There was a knock at the door and Beauty wondered who could be visiting so early. His father turned and opened the door to show two huge cloaked bodies standing in the doorway. The tired father stepped aside letting them in.  
The two beings were certainly not from the village. No one in the village was as tall or wide as these two creatures were. The two looked to be the size of a couple of giants Beauty had seen in fairy tales books the village kids read. “Who are they and why are they here? You finally hire help to pick up Alice’s slack?”

“He is just as you said. The master will be quite pleased with this one no matter what the outcome is. It will be my pleasure to help knock the little one off his pedestal,” one of the creatures spoke and Beauty could barely make out whether it was male or female. He hoped it was a male because it would have been unsightly for a woman to, not only be so big, but to also have a voice that sounded as if she were chewing rocks.

“What is that thing talking about father? What are they? Don’t they know it’s rude not to show their face when they’re a guest in someone else’s home. I’m sure they’re shocked at how beautiful I am and they will probably look nowhere near as breathtaking as me, nonetheless, it gives them no excuse to hide their appearance. I am used to gazing upon unattractive creatures; Alice for example.” There was the sound of something breaking further in the house as Alice growled in anger. Beauty assumed his sister dropped something in her clumsiness; his father shook his head while he ran his hands over his face, and the two creatures made sounds that Beauty assumed were meant to be snickering.

“Listen here Beauty; I tried to break this to you as gently as possible. Our money is nearly depleted; your mother and I are getting too old to keep up two jobs a piece to support your lavish needs. Your sister does all she can to help out around the house and then helps out the villagers in any spare moment she has left. You’re the only one that does not contribute to this household let alone to society.” His father’s voice was still soft despite the stern words he was saying.  
“How dare you expect me to sully my good looks by-.”

“Shut up Beauty! Shut your damn mouth for one minute will you. No one cares about your looks, or how you believe you’re better than the world because you think you’re so wonderfully good looking. Real beauty is deeper than just surface level. Your personality is so horrid that no one can stand you. The entire village hates you. I tried to be a good understanding father and be on your side regardless of how stupidly asinine you acted; after all you are my child. Your mother has been heartbroken for years at your atrocious behavior. She still loves you and believes you to be her precious little angel for all its worth to you to hear those words. She couldn’t bear to be here when this happens.” His father heaved a heavy sigh suddenly looking his fifty-two years of age.

To say Beauty was floored at such a reaction from his father was an understatement. He’d never been reprimanded a day in his life let alone yelled at. There was also something else that confused him. It wasn’t something that was done, but what was said. “What do you mean mother couldn’t bear to be here when this happens? What’s going on father?” An icy feeling went down his spine; he wondered if this was what fear felt like. He’d only read about fear in books but had never felt it for himself. He took an involuntary step back as the two cloaked creatures moved towards him still making a weird laughing sound. Beauty peered between their boulder sized bodies towards his father for help but he busy starring at the ground.

“He sold you to the beast that lives in the Northern woods surrounding Rhubarb. I hear it’s this beastly looking woman that is so hideous she was shunned by her own mother who left her for dead in the streets. It’s said that occasionally she appears on dark moonless nights every so often bartering with poor families like our own to sell their beautiful children to her.” Alice chimed in from behind Beauty and he turned his head to see Alice smirking at him from where she leaned in the doorway. He couldn’t help but sneer at her for trying to spook him.

Beauty had heard tales of the beast. He never took a fancy to the stories for why would he want to hear tales about some woman that had been so ugly her mother didn’t even want her. He turned to their father who still refused to look at him. “Father, tell Alice to stop spouting such nonsense. You’d never sell me to some hideous abomination that would probably want to do god knows what with me right?” 

Beauty grew more frightened as his father said nothing. He had to speak up any second right? Seconds ticked by until they felt like minutes. The creatures looked at each other then back at Beauty. “Are you finished here so that we can retrieve our package and be on our way?”

His father looked over at the creatures then at him for a couple of seconds. “Where is the payment that your master and I agreed on? She said she would give me twenty gold coins in exchange for him. If it’s not the exact amount then I will go sell him for near that amount at a brothel.” If Beauty wasn’t so frightened about how he was being bartered off a hideous monster right in front of his eyes, he might have voiced how offended he was about only being sold for a meager twenty gold coins. With looks such as his he was certainly worth at least a hundred if not more.

“Humans are such greedy creatures. Here is your money old man. The master was even gracious enough to add in an extra five gold coins if you promise to keep an eye out for any traveling lookers like this one and send them her way.” The other hooded beast sounded just like the first one except its voice seemed to have a bit higher pitch. The creature reached into its cloak and handed his father a coin purse with the aforementioned gold. Its hand and arm, which were possibly thicker than Beauty was in width, was covered in what Beauty presumed to be a long black leather glove.

His father opened the purse pulling out a sparkling gold coin and bit it to check for authenticity, Beauty forgot his predicament for a second to stare at awe at the coin. He had never seen one before. His father’s eyes light up in glee at the feel of the coin bending against his teeth. Beauty’s fear returned as his father gave him the dirtiest most detestable look he could muster. Years of enduring the boy’s better than thou attitude because he looked good finally paid off. 

“I really do care for you Beauty, despite how much of a nuisance you’ve been to this family. I mostly put up with your little antics for your mother’s sake but she and I are getting far too old to cater to your whims. We would like to retire sometime,” Beauty’s father still didn’t look at him but at the purse of gold in his hand. “I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for any others as long as I’m ensured more payment.” With that said the man walked past the creatures and Beauty leaving him to his fate.

Beauty took a couple steps back shaking his head as the creatures came towards him with no pause. He had to get out of there. His family betrayed him. Where he would go he didn’t care as long as it was far away from Rhubarb and far away from the Northern forest that the beast lived in sounded perfect. Maybe he could go to another country. He heard things like that existed far away. He prepared himself to dash between the two bulky captors when he felt a painful thunk on the back of his head. Beauty fell face first into the hands of one of the monsters, his vision slowly fading. Beauty could see Alice from his peripheral as she stood right where he stood holding a cast iron skillet.

“It was either you or us dear brother and in all fairness I did try to warn you you’d regret not changing your ways. It seems your almighty god that blessed you with your looks did not bless you in this decision.” His sister’s last words echoed in his fading conscious. He had a moment before all was black to wonder; why had God cursed him like this? Was he not beautiful enough for him?

 

[Part 1 END]


	2. Pt. 2

Beauty groaned in pain as he began to wake up. He had a headache the size of a deer. He idly wondered what he’d been doing the night before to warrant such a headache. He didn’t remember going out drinking but then again he couldn’t remember much else other than his name right at the moment. He pushed the silkiest covers he’d ever felt halfway off his naked body as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head for the source of his pain. It felt like there was a knot there and he wondered why.

“I see you’re finally awake Sleeping Beauty. That sure was some swing with the pan your sister gave. The master says to give you clothes and then escort you to dinner as soon as you wake.” A gravelly voice came from across the room and if Beauty were anything but a man he would have shrieked. However, as it was, he was very much a man, a beautiful man but a man nonetheless, so he gave a manly grunt in surprise.

There in the corner of the room, to Beauty’s disbelief, was something he could only describe as a rock man. It was similar to the size of a giant from fairy tales, if stuff like that had actually been real. Regardless of his thoughts this rock thing was very real as it came closer to the bed where he drew the sheets to his chest as a protective shield. It was at least 7’ tall and as wide as four large tree trunks. It looked like it was compiled of various shades of grey colored boulders and tiny rocks of all sizes. Its face, if you could call it that, resembled a cheaply made clay doll. Beauty swallowed hard, scooting as close to the wall as he possibly could away from the creature. “W-who are you?”

“I am Amy. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten so quickly about me human. Remember I was there when your father sold you. I was cloaked at the time to hide my true nature so you probably don’t really remember. I’m the one that handed your father his money. A money grubbing little human he is. The master said he is the only human to ever so quickly sell his flesh and blood.” Beauty’s heart sank as he begun to shake in horror of what happened to him. His family sold him to monsters. “Don’t fret little one. Though the master is called the beast by your people she can be quite kind. In fact she can grant your deepest wishes, although if I were you I’d be careful what I wish for around her. Humans never truly realize what they are wishing for until it is too late and all is wrong.”

“G-get away,” Beauty mumbled so softly Amy never heard him as he shook harder with newborn rage.

“The master is the kindest person I know. She gave me and my husband a warm home, food and a source of income where in the outside world we had to hide our existence. I mean we still sort of do but it’s hardly as bad as how we lived years ago before she found us. She’s truly misunderstood and hardly beast-like unless-.”  


“Shut up you bumbling rock and get out!” Beauty gulped in deep breaths of air that sounded harsh in the newfound silence. The creature, or Amy as it called itself, dropped what looked like clothing on the bed before turning around and with soft thumping sounds, that Beauty would have thought should have been louder due to Amy’s sheer size, left out the door behind him. He heard the soft click letting him know he was now locked in the room.

What could he do now? First things first was to clothe himself so if anymore creatures like Amy decided to show up then they wouldn’t think he was vulnerable just because he was naked. He picked up the clothing and noticed he was given a tunic and pair of pants. Surprisingly as he slipped them on they were both his size and of excellent quality too. The forest green colors would definitely help to make his eyes sparkle even more than they already did he thought. He admired himself in a full length mirror turning this way and that way a couple minutes before he grew bored.

Beauty turned to take in the surroundings of his prison. As he took a closer look he noticed his surroundings were neither plain nor lavish. He could easily tell that the frame to the queen sized bed he had slept in was a smooth wood that wouldn’t be found anywhere around his village. There was a dresser, a desk and a couple of end tables that were also of nice quality wood. The stone walls were covered with beautiful tapestries depicting battles. He walked closer to one in particular and noticed that it showed a battle between monsters. Go figure that a monster would hang up artwork telling the history of other monsters. So conceited of them he thought. 

He continued surveying his surroundings, looking for things he could use as a weapon later on if necessary, when he heard the click of the lock being undone. He turned towards the door that opened revealing a tiny little cloaked figure. He figured the person must be a child for they barely reached his waist. Other than their height Beauty couldn’t tell much else about the figure for their face and body was completely hidden by the brown clothe. It seemed to be staring at him without a word and that annoyed him.

“Well? Are you going to say anything? Who are you and where is this beast person that bought me? It’s rude to keep guests waiting. And do all you people associated with this beast person have no manners when it comes to showing your face?” Beauty tapped his foot and crossed his arms over his chest daring the child to say something smart so he could squash them in his anger. So what if beating up a kid wasn’t a manly act, he couldn’t beat up the monsters, so it was the kid’s fault for being so tiny and defenseless if it did get bullied.

Beauty continued to wait for the child to respond before finally small little hands reached up to undo the button at the neck of the cloak and pull back the hood. He gasped at what he saw for this child had to be one of the most beautiful people he laid eyes on. She might be able to rival his beauty if she tried in a couple years or so. She was pale, paler then the moon itself. Her hair was a bone straight platinum blonde till the point it was nearly white in color and now that he looked at it, he could tell it ended at her ankles. It came as even more of a surprise when the girl removed the cloak and under the little pale pink sundress she wore, Beauty gazed upon the biggest breast ever put on a body that small. He rescinded his previous statement, this was obviously no child.

“I am sorry; it’s been so long since I had company, I forgot my manners. I am the beast you speak of; please allow me to welcome you to my home.” The woman’s voice was rather soft and childlike as though she didn’t speak often. She bowed to him and her long hair swept over her shoulder in the process.

Beauty was stunned so much he is unsure of what to say. He had been sure that the beast was going to be this hideous creature which he would treat just like all the other ugly people and things in his life. However, he couldn’t very well treat such a beauty with disrespect. He walked across the room bending down at the knee and took her hand, kissing it. “Pardon my rudeness. There was this thing in my room earlier and it was terribly rude in explaining things to me. You surely are no beast. If you wouldn’t mind; may I ask your name?”

The woman looked up at him revealing the palest blue eyes he’d ever seen. They reminded him a lot of ice, nearly devoid of color except for a hint. She inwardly frowned at him describing her workers as a thing. Instead of letting it show on her face she gave him a far off look (Beauty thought she was wondering how he got so handsome for he knew he would if he was meeting himself for the very first time) while her face scrunched slightly. “Amy was rude to you? That is not good. I will have to talk to her about that. As for a name I was never given one. I was abandoned at birth and raised myself so no one was ever around to call me anything. Those that work for me call me master while as you are quite aware those that live in the villages that surround my forest call me the beast or just Beast.”

“That’s outrageous! Obviously no one has gotten a proper look at the beautiful woman that you are. If it would not be so forward of me, could I give you a name to call you while I am in your stay?” She nodded and Beauty couldn’t help but smile. Despite her small height that gave her the appearance of a child, her face structure and body frame were all very adult-like. “Hm, what is a beautiful name that would fit a beautiful woman as you…how about Lily?”

She tapped her chin with her fingers that Beauty wasn’t still pawing before she nodded. “That will do just fine. You may call me Lily. I had a dinner prepared for when you would arrive. Are you hungry?” Beauty smiled at her innocent cuteness. She was exactly what he dreamt his first girlfriend would be like. He nodded and Lily turned to take them to where the food was. “Follow me then, we can eat while I discuss what is to happen while you are my guest here.”

Lily and Beauty walked down long stone corridors that seemed to go on for miles. Lily was silent the entire walk while Beauty talked of the horrors, trials and tales of the ugly people in his village. He wasn’t disturbed by her unnatural silence; in fact he preferred that she did not seem to talk too much for he much preferred to do all the talking. He continued to follow Lily not bothering to take notice to the twist and turns they made as he moved on to tell her about how hideous his mother was and how Alice took right after her.

“We’re here Beauty.” Lily gritted out as pleasantly as she could. This had to have been the worst companion she had ever chosen. She could see why his father had pushed him off on her without trying to barter for more money the twenty gold coins. She’d often bought far less pretty men and women than Beauty for hundreds of gold coins or other expensive equivalencies. She pushed open two giant doors that looked pretty heavy to Beauty but she opened with ease.

There was a long table with a feast of food along it and it smelled heavenly. Lily walked to the head of the table and Beauty followed after her picking out all the things he would love to eat. There were so many delicious looking things he wasn’t sure what to try first. This must be what heaven was like. Lily climbed into the large throne-like chair at the head of the table and Beauty sat in the more normal looking seat next to her his gaze still affixed to the table “Is all this food for us?” He stopped eyeing the food long enough to look at her for brief moment.

“I already ate this morning. This is solely for you. All I ask is for you to listen to what I have to say while you are dinning.” Beauty nodded absently even though he didn’t intend to listen to her. He was about to eat so why should he have to listen to a woman babble while he tried to enjoy himself? 

He started his feast by picking up a turkey leg that was bigger than his head. He bit into it and it was still hot and oh so juicy. He had never tasted something so delicious. He grabbed a few slices of already cut ham and shoved them into his mouth and it was as savory as the turkey. Beauty moaned in ecstasy as he started blindly grabbing food not really caring what he grabbed for it all tasted so heavenly.

“So for starters you are to be my…companion for an extended period of time. The extension of that period all depends on you. Would you wish to stay with me forever Beauty?” Lily looked at Beauty and she could tell he was totally enthralled by the food just as she intended him to be.

Beauty somewhat took notice of Lily talking but his mind was solely focused on the food. He nodded at whatever she asked so that she might not ask him any more questions. If he had looked up he would have seen the brief glitter of color seeping into Lily’s eyes. 

“That’s good, I’d wish so too. Well as far as rules go I only have two that you must obey. Are you listening Beauty?” Beauty nodded inattentively as he scooped up a large spoonful of cranberry sauce into his mouth along with a spoonful of corn. “One of the rules are you must never go into the southern tower period. That is my room and only Amy’s husband, Brian, may enter that place, day or night. The second rule is not to leave this castle no matter what the reason is. Even if for some dreadful reason you disobey the first rule you will be safe so long as you follow the second rule.” 

Beauty shoveled more food into his mouth. He’d eaten enough food to feed the village but he still was far from full. So long as there was a never ending supply of food in front of him to eat then he probably could continue to eat. He had heard Lily mention rules and immediately tuned out the rest of what she had to say. Silly little woman to believe that people as beautiful as they had to follow rules. She obviously didn’t know any better. 

Lily starred at Beauty for a little while longer before snapping her fingers making the food on the table disappear. Beauty groaned at the loss of the food, wondering where it went. “What happened to all the food?”

“You ate it all, don't you remember? Its bed time Beauty. It’s late and I’m sure you want to explore the castle in the morning while I sleep. Let me guide you back to your room.” Lily stood up smiling sweetly at Beauty and he melted on spot. She was such a sweet, thoughtful person he thought.

“Of course, explore in the morning. The food was so good though. I think I could eat forever.” Beauty yawned suddenly tiredly. He followed Lily back to his room, his eyes barely open as his feet shuffled along the carpeted floor. Lily grasped his hand and dragged him along causing him to faintly smile and blush.

Once back at Beauty’s bedroom, which thankfully had been a lot quieter trip, Lily let go of Beauty’s hand. She pushed open his door and stepped out of his way so that he could enter. “It was really nice having dinner with you Beauty. I’m sure you will be quite…delightful to have here. Do remember my rules and I hope to see you tomorrow night.”

Beauty yawned nodding at Lily as he shuffled into the room not even caring to notice the sound of the lock clicking in place behind him. He pulled off the tunic and left on his pants in case he got cold during the night. Beauty wished he could see Alice’s face now with all her talk of God leaving him, when in fact he had blessed Beauty greatly. He cuddled in his covers thinking the day couldn’t have gone any better than it did. So it was with this that he fell into a deep peaceful sleep.

~

It was the third day since Beauty had arrived at Lily’s castle and the time was passing agonizingly slow for her until she felt she was at her wit’s end. She couldn’t possibly bear another second around the insufferable fool. Everything from his obnoxious, over pretentious, self-absorbed attitude to his sickeningly sweet fawning over her and her looks made her sick to the stomach. Lily found it a blessing she only needed to eat once a week for if that was not the case she would have surely retched all Brian and Amy’s dedicated efforts in tracking down the special meat that she had taken a strong liking too.

Lily sighed as she walked down the dimly lit corridors heading towards the southern wing, her room. She was sure that Beauty had paid no attention to her while she talked the first night he came. That was how her magical food affected those that ate it; the food would entrance her “companions” into making wishes they might not have made if they had a clear mind. It was such an ingenious plan though it was not always successfully if the companion was smarter then she thought. She took the steps two at a time, her lavender sundress danced around her ankles with each jump she made. Reaching her door in record time, Lily pushed the large golem sized door open and skipped into the room.

It was nice to act like a child every once and a while. After all she had to give up her childhood so quickly. The so called story of the beast was simply that, a story. Lily had long ago been born to a superstitious mother. Twins were a sign of bad omen and the second child was often demanded to be killed or thrown out of the village in order to save the mother and others from the curse. Lily’s mother had chosen to throw out her newborn baby into the winter chill. Amy and Brain who had been doing part time work for a local witch had gladly taken her in. Even the witch seemed to take a liking to the little child giving her a contract to gain demonic powers that would later give her the name the Beast.

None of this bothered Lily now. She was quite content with her life and she was more than happy to have not grown up to be a conceited young adult like all her companions were. She looked up at the wall behind a large four poster bed. A bookshelf lined the upper half of the wall; however, except for books lining it, there were dozens of barely lit colorful lanterns. These were her greatest treasures. She had been collecting them since as long as she could remember and had once lost one of them. It brought her great pain to think about the one she let got away. Lily promised herself not to get swept away by any of her treasures again. Now other than the company of Amy and Brian, the ever expanding collection of lanterns was all Lily needed to live her life peacefully. Not a mother, a village or any other form of family or love. Anything that possibly threatened her current life style would have to be dealt with quickly.

~

The week passed in a blur for Beauty. He’d explored the castle to his fullest, enjoying all the unique rooms, artwork, and furnishings Lily had in each. Of course his mood was greatly dampened by the fact that Amy had insisted on following him no matter where he went talking about this and that while often inserting what she believing to be funny little quaint stories about her husband and herself. Beauty would much rather have had the cute Lily following him but she slept during the day while he was getting acquainted with his surroundings.

“Where are you human? You better not be doing anything you’re not supposed to be doing!” Amy thundered through the halls as she ran looking for the missing Beauty. He’d said he was going to take a quick nap before exploring more of the castle but just before she could close and lock the door he’d slipped through the crack and ran off. 

“What’s going on Amy? What’s with all the ruckus? The master is grumbling in complaint about all the noise interfering with her sleep. Its getting close to the time she needs to eat again and you know how irrationality cranky she gets when she is hungry.” The other rock giant, which Beauty had come to find out the technical classification was a golem, named Brian came down a set of stairs. Beauty had not really taken notice of the stairs before today. Amy seemed to always aggravate him to the point he went back to his room anytime he came to the southern side of the castle so he hadn’t had much time to explore this area as he had the rest. He idly remembered Lily mentioning that she stayed in a tower; he assumed that this was the aforementioned tower.

Lily, his sweet elusive Lily that he had been pinning over all week was just a couple steps away. Beauty half remembered the wish he’d made at dinner time. It had bothered him greatly a few nights that he had so easily agreed to it that first night but after spending a week with her he knew with every fiber of his being that they were meant to be together. So he would spend every morning planning out how he would woo her, but by the time Lily woke up it was dinnertime and Beauty found himself ravenous for food. After dinner it was always late and Beauty found himself fatigued. He never had a chance to execute his plan. Yet, now he was neither sleepy nor hungry. It was the perfect time to sneak up and see Lily. All he had to do was wait for the two ugly creatures to leave in search for him, then he would sneak upstairs.  


“Please help me find him Brian. I’m worried he might try to sneak outside. You know how the master is about her guests leaving without permission.”

Brian sighed heavily scratching his giant rock head. “I’d love to help you Amy but what if he isn’t sneaking outside and he heads up and disturbs the master’s sleep. Do you know what would happen if that were the case?”

“Please Brian; I really need your help.” Amy heard her husband sigh and she clapped in triumph causing a loud thundering sound to echo the halls. A door could be heard opening at the summit of the stairs and Amy found a large dresser fly inches past her head to hit the wall. A growl followed before the door was slammed shut. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to make so much noise.” Amy scratched her head bashfully while Brian simply shook his head and led her down the opposite hall Beauty had hidden in search of him.

Beauty shook his head in disgust, stupid monsters. This just goes to show ugly people were stupid too. He stepped over the broken pieces of wood and headed up the stairs. The thought of seeing Lily during the day blinded him from questioning how the dresser was thrown down the stairs. He stood at the door and took a deep breath pushing it open, “Lily I came to visit you!”

~

“Master dinner is served…” Amy sighed as she slid a plate of smoking meat in front of Lily. It was still juicy and red just the way she liked it. Lily could practically still hear the animal squealing and it brought a tinkle of pleasure. Her plate was garnished with dozens of multi-colored flower petals that floated on the blood. There was a large lantern next to her that sparkled the most spectacular green.

“Ah yes dinner. This was what I was waiting for the last week.” Lily’s dark sky blue eyes twinkled as she scooped up a bite of the juicy meat and moaned. “You were a lot more beautiful then I thought you would be Beauty with the hideous person you are inside. I had some doubts about it at the beginning of the week; your personality seemed like it would be rather tough to swallow. However I must admit, you’re quite the beauty.” Lily gazes into the lantern which glows and flickers strongly while she grins around another forkful of food.

THE END


End file.
